CLEEN Foundation Trains Stakeholders On Crime Prevention In Lagos

 

CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organisation trained some security stakeholders on prevention of Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) in Ikeja, Lagos Statetate.

The two-day training which started on Monday had the theme: “Serious and Organized Crime (SOC) on Prevent for the Crime Prevention Steering Group (CPSG).

The Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr Gad Peter, in his opening address, said that the idea to train stakeholders on crime prevention was because Lagos state was among states more prone to security challenges.

Peter said that the Prevent Project was for everyone irrespective of status.

“This project is not only for people in small community even the rich people we thought are protected suffer from molestation and do what they do not want to do.

“We need to pay attention to what is happening around us.

“Nigerians want to know how our security agents are responding to this issue of crime and criminality that push people into depression,” he said.

He called on all stakeholders in Nigeria to work together to secure the country’s future.

“We must ensure that everyone plays their part in promoting peace, security, and stability in the nation,” he said.

The Executive Director urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kennedy Osezuah, said that SOC was a criminality that required a level of planning, preparation and coordination.

He said that the impact goes beyond the crime itself, negativity impacting socio-economic, political dynamic and structure.

“SOC includes but not limited to trafficking and dealing in drugs and people, weapons and counterfeit good, sophisticated theft and robbery.

“Fraud and other forms of financial crime, cybercrime, kidnapping, child sexual exploitation,” he said.

According to him, SOC is not new in the society, just that it is taking a new dimensions.

Osezuah, who is the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) Ifako Division, said that SOC required a response across the whole of government, and close collaboration with the public, the private sector and with many other.

He highlighted the role of Organised Criminal Groups (OCG) within the community in the state.

“OCG is a well structured or coordinated crime planned by two or more people for a purpose, it could be local or international,” he said.

According to him, the audience that Prevent intervention intend to target are those in anti-social behavior and low level crime but not yet as a member of an OCG.

“We cannot allow this menace to continue in our society, we have to be conscious to curtail the ugly trend,” he said.

Mr Trevor Service, Training advisor, SOC Prevent, United Kingdom, said that prevention was one of the approaches used to deal with SOC.

“Prevent is the concept of providing meaning alternative pathways to those most likely to join OCGs to prevent the growth and proliferation of membership leading to a decline in criminal activity,” he said

According to him, Prevent is close to community policing.

“It is critical for the police to involve the community at a very local level and prevent is part of a community-oriented policing approach,” he said.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Grace Longe, of the National Institute Police Studies (NIPS) called for concerted effort of all to prevent crime.

“We all need to contribute our quota in our little way to ensure that SOC Prevent program succeed.

“We are working to ensure that the initiative work so that the youth who are our future leaders can drive upon it.

“When the society is doing well, everybody is at peace,” she said.

NAN reports that the training was in collaboration with Brighter Future, TorchlightGroup and Tag international.

The training had in attendance representatives of Nigeria Police Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) NDLEA, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Others are Ministry of justice, Ministry of Education, National Orientation Agency, Police, Community Relation Committe, and other communities development partnership.